Code Geass: Lelouch of the Strategies
by SuperGota
Summary: A leap of faith was all it took. What if Lelouch received the Geass right after the assassination of Marianne? He is plunged into a war before the Zero Rebellion even begins.
1. Powerless No More

_War is a matter of vital importance to the State; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied. (I.1)_

_-Sun Tzu_

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* * *

_

_2009 A.T.B._

A black-haired boy dragged his feet slowly across the garden of the Imperial Aries Villa of Brittania, with thoughts of the previous day's gruesome events running rampant in his head; it should have been strategy flowing in his thoughts, as is expected of a chess master of his caliber, yet it was not. Instead, the twin curses of rage and paranoia had overcome him, and his grief helped him none either.

Suddenly, he stopped. The frown that marked his face like a permanent fixture since the assassination of his mother by unknown "terrorists" – so claimed the officials in Britannian government – turned into an expression of a mix between helplessness and anger.

"I am Lelouch vi Britannia, the eleventh prince, yet I could do nothing to help mother! Why am I so powerless? I was not there protect them, and now mother is dead and Nunally is in the hospital," the boy called Lelouch vented out, without an articulation that spoke volumes of his intelligence, the kind of mastery of language that one could not expect from a mere ten-year-old. He then continued to speak to nobody in particular, "I will find your killers mother! I swear it! But I need power first."

"And what will you do with that power, boy?"

Lelouch swerved around to face the stranger, with swiftness commendable enough to be considered a true sign of his heritage, what with his mother being the renowned Marianne the Flash, former Knight of Six and Empress Consort of Britannia.

"Who are you?" He demanded. The sight that met him – a girl whose appearances made her out to be no older than sixteen years old, or seventeen – seemed oddly familiar to him. He mused on whether he had seen this girl around Mother occasionally when Mother thought that nobody was paying attention. He had never questioned his Mother about the girl because he thought everyone deserved his or her own privacy, and if Mother thought him unfit to know, then he needed not know. Yet now it seemed that he had lacked foresight then, for he could not deem this person either a suspect or otherwise with his limited knowledge. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion and tensed his muscles – however non-existent they may be – in anticipation of a possible attack.

"You may call me C.C." promptly replied the slender, pale skinned, green-haired girl who wore clothes that seemed rather out of place, or at least a century behind the fashion times. Lelouch pondered for a moment what could have been going through the girl's head, when she chose to wear a large black hat that shaded her amber eyes from the piercing sun, in a manner that caused her to look as if she wanted no attention, yet contrasting completely with the very striking, out of place clothing. He had almost forgotten to be alert for an attack before the girl broke him out of his silent contemplations. "Are you going to answer the question, boy?"

"The question…?"

"You ought to pay attention when a lady speaks to you, boy. What will you do if you had power?" C.C. replied with an amused expression.

"What—I would find my mother's killers!"

"And how will you accomplish that?"

"I don't kn—That would depend on what kind of power I had. Why are you asking this?"

"Oh but you have no power now do you? What will you do?" the girl called C.C. continued without regard for his own question.

"I am the eleventh prince, Lelouch vi Britannia! I will seek an audience with my father, the Emperor!" Lelouch proclaimed with a hint of annoyance at the stranger that sought such information without giving him a reason. He wondered what it was that made him answer at all. Perhaps it was-

"And you think he will do anything?"

"What! He has to, he must!"

"And if he did not, what then?"

"I…I don't know. But I won't stop until I deliver justice to her killers, and make the world safe for Nunally!"

C.C. seemed to pause in deep thought for a moment while staring at the boy in front of her. Suddenly she moved forward and gripped Lelouch's wrist. A stream of images flashed through Lelouch's mind: he saw ancient ruins, ancient people, a strange bird-like symbol, and even his father. _Father?_

"A convergence with the Ragnarok connection? So the myth is beginning once again?"

_What was that? The Ragnarok connection? _Lelouch questioned as the image disappeared again and he was hurtling through some sort of strange vortex. The he heard C.C. voice all around him, _You seem to have a reason to live. You want power don't you? This is our contract. In return for my gift of power to you, you will grant one wish of mine._ The voice seemed to echo with an unearthly power all around him but he knew that this could not possibly be reality. It must be in his head. The power she promised appealed to him, but he could not made such a decision lightly, especially not when he did not yet have all the facts.

_What is the wish I must fulfill? _He asked.

_You do not have to know right now. If you enter into this contract, you will live as a human, but as one completely different. Different rules, different time, a different life... the power of the king will make you live a life of solitude. If you are prepared… _the voice elaborated.

Lelouch thought of his powerlessness again. He realized that his title as a prince was meaningless, for he held no real power. The image of his father flashed before him once more, and his decision was clear. If his father was somehow involved in all this, this "Ragnarok connection", then something bigger was going on. It seemed surreal to him, yet there was no other explanation for why his father would appear in the images he witnessed.

_I hereby accept your contract!_

The vortex disappeared suddenly to reveal the real world once more. Lelouch felt a surge of something, perhaps energy, in his left eye. And in that moment, he just _knew_ that he had the power of Absolute Obedience. There was no other way to put it, yet somehow he knew that he had the power to control anyone by ordering them to do something with this…this… Geass, which is the name he had seen in one of the images flashing before his eyes.

"Very well then. I will use this power to accomplish my goals, then I will fulfill your wish, whatever it may be." Lelouch declared with a new air of conviction while closing his eyes to begin thinking up plans.

"From now on, we are accomplices, Lelouch." C.C. assured him. Then in a lower voice that Lelouch did not quite hear, "When the time is right, I will find you again." However much she realized that Lelouch needed more guidance at the moment, she knew that it was too dangerous for her to stay. It was better to wait until Lelouch was someplace else, not under the close scrutiny of Britannia's finest.

Just like that, she walked off hurriedly, leaving behind the young strategist to determine his next course of action. After a few minutes in deep thought – that calm state which he had not experienced since the death of his mother – Lelouch opened his eyes with a smirk forming on his lips as he thought of ideas to "play" with his power. But before that, he would ask directly from the source. Unfortunately for him, it would seem that C.C. would not be able to help him for she had already left the scene.

Thus, Lelouch's powerlessness came to an end, and his grand strategy began.

* * *

**Edited July 2****nd****, 2010:** This chapter was split, because the other part was not appropriate for a prologue-like chapter. Some new content was added, but only minor details, along with slight errors fixed and some inconsistencies with canon (Marianne was the Knight of Six, but I had her as the Knight of One).


	2. The Critical Confrontation

**A/N:** This chapter was originally part of chapter 1, but if you've read the original version, you should still read this again because there are key changes.

* * *

"What a truly incredible power," Lelouch said to himself as he held a mirror in his hands that showed a palace guard walking off into the distance.

The previous day, Lelouch had run a multitude of tests on his Geass by going off to the capital city of Pendragon and giving commands to random citizens. Since then, he had discovered that his Geass worked only through direct eye contact, had a maximum effective range of 272 meters, could issue highly complex and complicated orders, and forced the victim to carry out orders as is physically or mentally possible. Orders that were not possible were attempted to the best of the victim's ability, resulting in situations where a victim may not have a certain knowledge, but would refer Lelouch to somebody who they believe would know, and/or situations where attempts an act even if it is not possible. Interestingly, it could force victims to carry out orders related to the subconscious and any orders related to a person's state of mind, such as an order to forget.

Just now, the idea came upon Lelouch to test out the Geass through reflective surfaces, among other new ideas.

Lelouch walked around the main courtyard of Aries Villa, pacing back and forth near the doors to the main house. He was planning to continue with his original plan to seek an audience with the Emperor, but with the questions that C.C. had left him the previous day, he recognized that he needed a contingency plan. Without the support of the Emperor, there was very little he could do as a prince of the Empire. Indeed, if the nobility were involved in the assassination, any of his own attempts to investigate would surely be futile if the nobility got wind of it.

At the moment, he could trust nobody. Nobody except his Geassed victims, that is. But he knew he could not dwell on this for too long. His plans hinged on the decision of the Emperor, and there was little to do until then.

But before that, he found another guard to be his next Geass victim.

* * *

The royal palace was a vast place, a gigantic monument that displayed the lavishness in which the royalty and nobility enjoyed at the expense of the numbered Areas they conquered.

Lelouch strode into the hall of the great Emperor of the Holy Empire of Britannia, who sat upon a gold lined throne located some two flights of stairs above the rest of the officials present. Nobility, royalty, and other officials lined the two sides of the hall, waiting to hear the request of their eleventh prince.

"Presenting his highness the eleventh prince, Prince Lelouch vi Britannnia!" Shouted a deep voice from somewhere in the hall but which nobody seemed to know the exact location of.

Lelouched walked forward with all the regality he could muster – actually quite an impressive display for a child – with his chin held high and his blue, regal robe touching the carpet. Though his face was towards the Emperor, he noticed all of the nobles around him and their disdainful gazes. He knew that the whole lot of them was a mass of contemptuous fools that looked down upon him and his mother simply because of his mother's _commoner_ status, as if the Empress could be a _commoner_. He also recognized perfectly that the assassination of his mother most likely had nothing to do with terrorists from Japan as was the official statement. No, it was much more likely that one or perhaps multiple of these arrogant nobles that were the cause.

As Lelouch's strides slowly came to a halt, he knelt down before the Emperor, who boomed, "Why have you come before me Lelouch?"

"Mother was assassinated yesterday. Why were there no guards at the time?"

"You come before me to tell me of that? That is old news. Leave if you have nothing better to say," the Emperor Charles di Britannia waved off.

"What? Do you not care?"

"She allowed herself to get killed. There is nothing more to it," Charles di Britannia answered harshly.

"What about Nunally? Will you not care for her either though she has lost the use of her eyes and legs?" Lelouch demanded.

"They were both weak. I have no use for the weak. Only the strong survive in this world."

Lelouch fell back in shock at hearing these words. He had never imagined his own father could be so cruel, so utterly ingrained in that ridiculous philosophy. He realized then that his father…no, Charles di Britannia, saw the vi Britannia branch as just that, another branch in the family. Or perhaps, he saw them as even less than that. For all Lelouch knew, Charles could well be a part of the whole conspiracy to have Mother eliminated. Slowly, tendrils of hate and rage seeped into his being, and his entire body trembled as his fingers clenched together to form fists. This revelation shocked him to his core, as he had always believed that the love between Charles and Mother was true. After a moment, he calmed once more, knowing that he could not stray from his strategy so easily, lest his rash decision prevent him from enacting his future investigations.

Lelouch then slowly rose again, gracefully, as if to dissipate his shocked demeanor, which was unbefitting for a prince.

"Look at you my son, how pitiful," the Emperor's voice boomed again.

"I apologize for my less than graceful behavior, father. It will not happen again. I will take my leave now."

"You are also weak Lelouch. As you are, you are of no use to me," the Emperor suddenly spoke out just as Lelouch was backing up, preparing to leave the hall.

This time he could not help but allow his rage to control him, if only for a short moment. But that short moment was enough to excite an outburst from him, "I am not weak! I will prove to you!"

"You believe yourself more useful to Britannia than Marianne the Flash?" sneered the Emperor, with strangely enough, an expression of immutable indifference. "So be it. Go to the Indochinese peninsula and prove your strength by leading our forces to victory within the week. Lord Gottwald shall accompany you now to the Imperial Colchester Institute. If you want any hope of matching your Mother, you will need some semblance of Knightmare training."

Every noble present looked shocked at the decision. Low murmurings began, carrying doubt of the Emperor's sanity. Other nobles kept to themselves, but none had expected this turn of events. The commotion quickly quieted with the prince's reply.

"Wha—Yes, of course your Majesty." The decision seemed to Lelouch irrational, but it was a perfect opportunity. Still, the deadline was really quite ludicrous, and it gave practically no time for real training. He doubted he could become adept at Knightmare controls so quickly unless he was a natural genius. Perhaps Charles simply wanted to rid of him

But this would not deter Lelouch. He would show his father, and prove that he was useful. Though of course, he had to find out why the Emperor would give such an important task to a ten-year-old, especially one without any experience in war. It was unlikely that he'd discover that any time soon. For now, he would become strong.

He walked out of the hall, with Lord Jeremiah Gottwald following closely behind him, and all the nobles staring at his retreating form.

* * *

As they moved out of the palace grounds, Lelouch's chauffeur stood outside his black car awaiting orders. The aged chauffeur opened the doors for Lelouch. The prince and the deep, forest green-haired noble both seated themselves in the vehicle.

"To Aries Villa," ordered Lelouch.

Gottwald looked confused for a moment, and then asked, "Your highness, didn't his Majesty say we should go to the Institute?"

"We'll go there after I take care of a few matters."

The meeting with Charles di Britannia had left Lelouch with a fury that he knew could be outwardly shown. One would think that a lack of support from his father would discourage him, but it was quite on the contrary: his resolve could only strengthen, supported by what he felt was the highest of Britannia society all attempting to block his justice. And with Geass, it would only be a matter of time before justice, against all barriers, would prevail.

* * *

**A/N:** There are a few things I want to address here. First of all, thank you for reading this first chapter and I hope you enjoyed it.

Secondly, I want to address a few possible points of contention within the story thus far. As you've read, the premise of this story is based on C.C. giving Lelouch his Geass early on. There are no other separate changes from canon. Everything else that has happened so far, is what I believe to be a direct result (or one possible direct result) of Lelouch receiving Geass early.

Apologizing came as a result of C.C.'s question of Lelouch would do had Charles refused to take action. The meeting simply gave him the opportunity to think clearly. As a result, he does not get caught up in the moment, and instead continues with his strategy. Like canon Lelouch says, a battle cannot be "influenced by real-time tactics, but only by strategy."

Another point you will most likely ask about is what's with the Indochinese peninsula. If you check Code Geass wiki, you'll see that Lelouch and Nunally were sent as hostages to Japan in 2009, and the Indochinese peninsula was taken over sometime between 2009 and 2010. In 2010, Japan changed its policy from neutral to be more pressuring on Britannia because they felt threatened by the successful invasion of the new Area 10, and aligned themselves with the EU and the Chinese Federation. This severely strains tensions between Britannia and Japan even though Lelouch and Nunally are in Japan. The Second Pacific war starts on August 10th.

**Edits July 2, 2010:** I split this chapter from chapter (the prologue) 1 because I felt it was inappropriately put into the prologue. I also had to correct some issues in chapter because I realized that some things I wrote would have introduced plot holes and/or misinterpreted a character's intent. For one thing, I removed Charles' order to Bismarck.

You may also have noticed that I removed most of the thoughts of the characters, and replaced them with a more narrative style. I also added a portion explaining Lelouch's known Geass restrictions.

I also changed Jeremiah's title from Margrave to just Lord, because the title Margrave is only supposed to refer to his military status in Area 11, which is not under the control of Britannia yet. And he is a Lord because he is of nobility (Margrave titles are only given to nobility in real life, so I assume it is the same in CG).


	3. Knight

As Lelouch and the Lord Gottwald stood outside the Aries Villa gate, Lelouch said to his companion, "Lord Gottwald, please wait here while I take of some private matters. I shall return shortly."

As one of the royal bodyguards of Her Majesty Marianne at Aries Palace before he was promoted, Jeremiah had often seen the young prince playing with his group of friendly siblings. He had seen him with a look of happiness, of enjoyment, of pure contentedness in those days, which now seemed so almost impossible to imagine again. Gone was the carefree boy that carried with him a slight smile wherever he went, or even that smirk showing his victories in chess. It was completely replaced by what seemed like a whole new person, radically different from before the assassination. Jeremiah could see in those eyes a kind of maturity far beyond the young prince's years. He could see the grief, the anger, the hatred, and even determination within those eyes. It was all he could to do hope that his prince would not drown in seclusion, yet if the prince's current request was any indicator, paranoia would be a difficult barrier to cross for any person who would want to relieve the prince of some of his pain and burden.

And so he would accede to that request, because he understood his prince's need for privacy in these turbulent times.

"Yes, your highness. I will wait here until your return."

With that, Lelouch turned around to face the gate and walked in.

* * *

Lelouch sat at his smooth, brown desk, which was littered with chess pieces and chess boards from his usual tinkering with chess strategies every so often. Today however, he was here with a laptop opened and had his cell phone out, dialing a familiar number.

"Hello? Reuben?" Lelouch spoke into the phone.

"Prince Lelouch? How are you, my prince?" questioned in a tired voice, the aged Earl Reuben Ashford, who was the head of Ashford foundation, a foundation that had supported Marianne vi Britannia from the very beginning, before her status as Empress.

"As well as I could possibly be, considering the circumstances, I suppose. And call me Lelouch. A family friend like you should not have to bother with such formalities. And you, Reuben? Mother's death would have hit the Ashford Foundation particularly hard, I imagine."

"It is true, we have suffered, but it is nothing compared to your pains, Lelouch. Although, I do not think the Ashford Foundation has much left in itself to continue on… I feel myself growing older with every passing minute. It may be time I retired. But enough about me, what can this old man do for you, Lelouch?"

"Ah… I do have a small favor to ask of you. You still have footage of Mother's famous Knightmare simulation don't you? The one in which she achieved a perfect score in public? I would like to have that, if you will."

"Of course, that is not a problem. But I could do more than that. Her original Ganymede is also in our possession."

"That is very kind of you Reuben. I would appreciate that. But the footage, would you be able to upload that to a secure server right this moment? I have need of it immediately."

* * *

Two enemy Knightmares quickly approached, each carrying a single rocket launcher in a form that could load up to three rockets. Behind those stood three enemy tanks, and a large group of infantry.

This was the scene that Lelouch sat watching intently, in the view of the simulation's pilot. As it was, the simulation's pilot had nothing but melee weapons in the form of particularly hardened fists and armored legs. Lelouch continued to watch as the screen moved rapidly towards the approaching Knightmare on the left, when a blue arm gripped onto the enemy's rocket launcher. The simulation's pilot used the grip as a lever to hoist her Knightmare up and spun around to punch the enemy Knightmare in the back of the Knightmare's "head" or optical receptor. At the same time, she pulled the rocket launcher from the enemy Knightmare's hands, and aimed it at the other Knightmare, which itself looked as if it were aiming right at Lelouch through the screen – but obviously he knew the aim pointed at the simulation's knightmare – and both Knightmares fired. Just before the enemy's rocket hit, the simulation pilot maneuvered the first Knightmare into being a shield for her and escaped the brunt of the blast. She then threw the Knightmare toward the general direction of the tanks before it erupted in a fiery explosion. Upon close examination, one could see that the second Knightmare had taken the hit and was no longer a threat.

From here on, the screen moved quickly to show the enemy tanks, and zigzagged by the left-most tank. A turn later, and a shot was fired at the farthest tank, while simultaneously the pilot had jumped on top of the central tank and crushed the gun barrel underfoot. And not a second later, the screen had moved again, this time headed straight towards the tank that the pilot had gone by before. Just before the halfway mark, the pilot strafed towards the left, pivoted using the Knightmare's left foot, and fired one shot after another at the fully functional tank, and the disabled tank.

Blackness ensued and a message displayed on screen: Mission Complete.

As Lelouch shut off his laptop and began walking out to the front gate of Aries Villa, he reflected on his hour long session of analyzing the footage of his mother's Knightmare simulations. He recognized that the actual appearance of enemy Knightmares when he took to the field in the Indochinese Peninsula would be highly improbable. Britannia was, after all, practically the only user of Knightmare frames around the world. The immense mobility that a Knightmare Frame offered was a key advantage to be exploited in battle. It was the reason his Mother became known as Marianne the Flash.

Now it was time to see whether he himself could measure up to his Mother's legacy.

* * *

A slight hint of annoyance frayed at Jeremiah Gottwald as he and Lelouch marched towards the Military Institute. With the long, one-hour, wait, Jeremiah had also become more concerned for his prince. He had to wonder at what Lelouch did exactly, but felt it inappropriate to ask. Still, he found it impossible to simply do nothing lest his prince spiral into misery.

"Your highness, if I may speak?"

"You may."

"Your highness, I was one of the body guards of Her Majesty Marianne before the assassination took place."

Lelouch stopped at this. He did not stop because of surprise, but because he was now curious of what the noble wished to say next. As soon as he found out about the death of his Mother, Lelouch had immediately sought out all the information he could find on every guard in place at the time. The files indicating their duties at the time were all classified, even to Lelouch. At the same time, all of them were promoted or reassigned. It seemed suspicious, yet it was far too suspicious to say that the guards were involved. Instead, it was more likely to be a cover up. But hearing it from Jeremiah would be interesting, to say the least.

"Ah yes… You were promoted just yesterday, were you not?"

"Yes, your highness, but it was not a promotion I deserved. Not when I had completely failed in my duty."

"Perhaps you could tell me a bit more. How did the terrorists manage to get past Britannia's so called impregnable defenses?"

"It was-we were ordered leave the palace that night. But even so, it is still my failure."

"Ordered to? Who gave the order?" demanded Lelouch. This information was shocking indeed.

"It was her highness Cornelia, as she was the commander of the guard unit."

Lelouch's eyes widened at that. The situation was worse than he had imagined: even a close half-sibling whom he believed to be a good friend had been involved in this. He wondered if Cornelia had been acting all along. It seemed that nobody could be trusted after all. Lelouch would have to interrogate Cornelia later. He was then broken out of his racing thoughts when Jeremiah spoke up once more.

"Your highness, I wanted to say that I deeply admired Lady Marianne. Her strength and skill have always been an inspiration to me and even if the Emperor had called her weak, I have never thought her as anything but strong."

At hearing that, Lelouch's gaze softened and tiniest traces of a smile began to form. He could see the sincerity in Jeremiah's eyes, and though he had thought that all nobles were against him and his Mother, he found that he could not but believe in Jeremiah's words. It was indeed a kind gesture, a gem among the many harsh truths that Lelouch had realized that day. But beyond that sincerity, Lelouch could see something more. It was a desire, a spark, a small ember that could perhaps be kindled into something greater.

"Thank you…Jeremiah."

Now it was Jeremiah's turn to widen his eyes, as he realized that Lelouch had foregone all formalities in simply calling him by his first name. Then he too smiled back and the two simply maintained their gazes at each other for a moment before they continued onwards.

The Imperial Colchester Institute was a place of learning for the best of pilots that Britannia's citizenry had to offer. It was also a place for nobility and royalty to do their training of course. In addition to training, it also provided a range of facilities for the technological development of new weapons for warfare, and was the birthplace of many great military scientists. The huge premises consisted of only two buildings. Or rather, a single structure that stood a mere single story tall that stood next to a large glass covered, round shaped, structure that curved upwards with two antennas reaching far into the sky. From a bird's eye view, the first structure could almost be likened to a stadium, except it had no seats. At the centre was an open dome with a track, training dummies, and a target range. Surrounding that was the closed structure, which had a multitude of different facilities, ranging from Knightmare simulation rooms and indoor gun target ranges, to actual Knightmare combat arenas. In the second structure was all of the facilities that dealt with research and development, too many to describe.

The duo headed towards one of the Knightmare simulation facilities with Jeremiah leading the way. On their way, a number of students stopped and bowed towards Lelouch, indicating their acknowledgement. Many of them had almost inspired looks on their faces, looking at Lelouch as if he represented a goal that they wanted to achieve. And certainly, Lelouch did represent that goal for many, especially those who sought to do their best to serve Britannia, and by extension, royalty such as Lelouch.

The room was a clean white blanket of sound-proof wall, with a single simulation cockpit at the centre. Throughout the Institute, several of these could be found. Each room was optimized for the best concentration possible, and usually these simulations were done alone, or within a very small group.

Lelouch sat down at the large, complicated, contraption and started the simulation program. Before he could begin, he would have to familiarize himself with the controls. He glanced down at the array of buttons, switches, and control handles. It took only a few minutes before he had the entire set of controls memorized, a sign of his incredible mental capacity.

He began the simulation.

* * *

Jeremiah Gottwald stood staring at the simulation's monitor. His eyes were completely glued to the screen, his mouth slightly agape. Many would describe Lelouch's physical state at the moment pathetic. He was sweating a river, panting like he had just run a marathon. His muscles ached from moving so quickly, for such a prolonged period of time. While a pilot could simply stay seated (and usually they did) during their flight, a great deal of effort was required for the expert maneuvers involved in handling all of the controls.

But the reason Jeremiah was so shocked, was not because of Lelouch's physical ineptitude. No, it was because he had seen those very techniques that Lelouch had performed being executed by another, long ago.

* * *

_A younger Jeremiah was running along the pathway on St. Darwin Street with his younger sister, Lilicia. It was the mass production release date of the third generation Knightmare Frame, Ganymede, and the Ashford Foundation was hosting a public display at the Imperial Colchester Institute. It was also the same day that the Britannian military had officially adopted Knightmare Frame direct combat into its training programme – previously, Knightmares had not been used as a primary weapon. As a result, the all-encompassing Knightmare simulator would be on display as well, featuring the rising star pilot Marianne Lamperouge._

"_Come on Lilicia, hurry up or we'll miss it!"Jeremiah called out to his sister as he panted while using his knees as support._

_They had just arrived at the open dome in the center of the combat training building of the Institute, where a large crowd had gathered. At the center of the crowd, there stood several platforms, on which there stood several Knightmares. Highest up was the new Ganymede on one knee with its left hand low to the hand as if it were gesturing for somebody to climb onto it. Beside it was a rectangular screen showing live Knightmare combat in the simulation. At the far end, there was a single simulation cockpit sealed off from the rest of the dome._

"_I'm here now – gasp – Jeremiah – puff. Why did you want to see this so bad anyway?" questioned Lilicia in between loud breaths for air. _

_The two watched the action on the large screen: a grip, a turn, a punch, a shot, a throw. Just like that, the pilot had defeated two enemy Knightmare frames and turned towards the line of tank and infantry. Indeed, the performance was as impressive as boasted: the pilot flashed by the first tank and fired at the farthest tank on the right. Then the pilot jumped on top of another tank and stomped into the gun barrel, disabling it. Immediately, just as the first tank turned around, the pilot rushed forward, strafed to the left, and fired another shot. _

_When it was over, the single cockpit on the far side of the dome began to unlatch, and out came a black-haired woman who looked to be in her late teens. The crowd made way for her as she jogged over to the Ganymede platform, and jumped on to the Knightmare's hands – waving to the crowd – before jumping again into the cockpit._

_Jeremiah watched all this in awe as he answered Lilicia with a voice of a man who had found his calling, "Because I'm going to be one of Britannia's best Knights when I grow up, just like her."

* * *

_

For once, Lelouch was humbled. He could not fathom what was wrong with his performance. Everything that he had analyzed from his Mother's simulation footage, he had applied, but it just didn't seem to come out right. In the end, he only wound up with a score a little higher than average. What's more, he had never realized how physically demanding piloting was. He would have to fix that problem as soon as possible. It would not do for him to suddenly collapse in the middle of a battle.

With all these thoughts running through Lelouch's head, it was no wonder that he almost didn't catch what Jeremiah uttered.

"Lady Marianne…"

"Did you say something Jeremiah?"

"Uh? Oh yes your highness, I was just reminiscing about Lady Marianne's Knightmare Frame techniques. If you don't mind me saying so, your highness, I can definitely see the evidence of your heritage. You have all the right maneuvers, and you have no hesitation at all. It's almost as if your mind is light years ahead of your body…"

Lelouch almost cursed at himself for not realizing it sooner. "What you are saying is, my fitness is limiting my ability in a Frame?"

"Ah-yes, that seems to be it, your highness."

"I see. To be able to observe with such detail, you must be an exceptional Knightmare pilot yourself."

"You praise me too much, your highness."

Lelouch removed himself from the cockpit and turned to face Jeremiah. He had been deliberating on whether he would take this course of action for a while now, but he was sure now.

"I have need of such exceptional Knights."

"Your highness?"

"Jeremiah… would you serve me? Would you serve me as you have served my Mother these years?"

For a while, and even now, Jeremiah harbored dreams of becoming the Knight of One to make up for his perceived failure. For a man who valued loyalty above all, and who desired no less than to perform to perfection, the assassination of Marianne was truly disgraceful to Jeremiah. He believed that he failed his duty, and failed his empire. But he could recognize opportunities when they come, and there was no doubt in his mind that this offer from the prince was just that: a chance to redeem himself, to prove the strength of his loyalty. And prove it he would.

"I would, your highness. It would be an honor."

"What I seek is justice. If you choose to serve me, then you should be prepared to fight many battles against my plentiful enemies. Even now, I don't even know the true extent of those against me. It is possible that even the Emperor is against me. With that in mind, are you still certain of this choice?"

"I have no doubts whatsoever your highness. My will is yours to command. As I have failed Lady Marianne once already, it is my duty and my dream to be able to help you shine your justice upon the world."

"Then, from this moment forth, you will be my knight!" proclaimed Lelouch.

"Yes, your highness!"

And so, Lelouch gained another valuable piece.

* * *

**A/N**: I say another piece, rather than the first piece, because technically, you could say his Geass was his first piece, and C.C. was his second (though this piece is inaccessible at the moment).

Before you start criticizing me about Lelouch start to pilot at such a young age (I assume you will question how can a child with short arms/legs be capable of it), I want to say that Knightmare cockpits can be customized to fit, and even without customization during the building process, you can see from various animations in the anime that it is perfectly possible to MOVE the controls in a Knightmare, thus allowing even a child to be able to reach the controls, though it could prove more difficult. If you still have any problem with this, let me know so I can fix the logic somehow to make this work.

Sorry about the rather long wait. Most stories upload the first few chapters pretty quickly, and I had expected to upload this a few days ago, but then I discovered several main issues with my plotline and certain events during the chapters before this, so I had to change up a lot of things.

Was the Knightmare battling any good? I don't particularly fancy myself as being a good writer of battle scenes, so I hope it wasn't too bad.


End file.
